GUMLA: In a major success for the Jharkhand Police, Martin Kerketta, the chief of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), was gunned down during an encounter in the Parhi-Chhangabari forests of Gumla late on Tuesday night.Kerketta carried a bounty of ₹15 lakh on his head and had been on the police radar for a long time.According to police sources, Kerketta had assumed leadership of the PLFI following the arrest of its former chief, Dinesh Gope, in Nepal. Both Gope and Kerketta were childhood friends and had studied together, later working jointly to expand the organisation.Terming it a significant blow to the PLFI, an offshoot of the banned CPI (Maoist), police officials said the operation was launched following a tip-off that Kerketta was in the area to collect extortion money from a local businessman. A team, led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Nazir Akhtar, was dispatched to trace his location.On spotting the police, Kerketta and his squad opened fire. In retaliatory firing, Kerketta was killed on the spot, officials said.
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